Various containers for storing and/or dispensing liquid or powder products, which have been modified to display a decorative external appearance, are known in the art. Many of these containers have further been provided with three-dimensional components to provide a shape to the container that resembles an object, such as an animal or a cartoon character. Such modifications are designed to enhance the container's aesthetic appearance, making the container more suitable for display in one's home, such as on the bathroom sink or on the kitchen counter. Also, if the container, such as a bottle of shampoo for example, is made to resemble a cartoon character or the like, it may decrease a child's fear or displeasure of having his or her head shampooed.
The earliest decorative containers of this type included bottles which were formed by blow molding. Thereafter, a pressure sensitive label or shrink label was applied as decoration to these bottles, which typically contained bath soaps, shampoos and bubble baths. These bottles were provided with cartoon character heads, or "toppers" as they are known in the art. The topper was placed over the bottle's closure and secured thereto such as by friction fitting or the like. Many of these toppers were provided with an opening therein, to allow for dispensing of the product through the topper. Other toppers merely housed the dispensing device, and had to be removed to gain access to the dispensing device.
Although these designs provided the package with a decorative appearance, the actual character depicted was merely a one dimensional label applied to the bottle itself. Any features with three-dimensional detail were limited to the decorative toppers.
One such early decorative container known in the prior art is hollow, generally cylindrical in configuration and comprises a peripheral side wall. The container is closed at its bottom end and terminates at its upper end in a neck portion. The container further comprises a two-piece closure, known in the art as a "push-pull" closure, for sealing the contents, such as a liquid or powder, within the container. The two piece closure comprises an inner cap and an outer fitment. The inner cap has a hollow, reduced diameter spout which is closed at its top and has a circumferential sealing bead located below the top. The spout further includes at least one opening therein which is located between its closed top and the circumferential sealing bead. The outer fitment is hollow and has an upwardly extending, reduced diameter portion whose top is open. The fitment also has a peripheral sealing bead on the internal surface of its reduced diameter portion. To seal the container and it contents, the inner cap is secured, generally with the use of threads, over the neck portion of the container. The fitment is then pushed into place over top of the inner cap so that the internally located sealing ring of the outer fitment is located below the externally located sealing bead of the inner cap, and the external surface of the uppermost portion of the spout of the inner cap comes into sealing engagement with the inner surface of the upwardly extending, reduced diameter portion of the external fitment. A hollow decorative piece, i.e., the "topper," may be secured to the fitment where it can be held in place by, e.g., friction fit. When a topper is used, it will have an opening therein for receiving the reduced diameter spout of the fitment. To dispense the contents of the container, the fitment (and its overlying topper, if one is used) is pulled upwardly. This removes the spout of the inner cap from its sealing engagement with the inner surface of the reduced diameter portion of the fitment. The contents may then flow from the interior of the container, through the interior of the reduced diameter spout of the inner cap, through said at least one opening in the spout, and finally through the open upper end of the fitment. The side wall of the container is either a rigid material, in which case the contents would be poured out of the container, or the side wall is flexible, in which case the contents may be dispensed by squeezing the wall.
The above-described prior art container provides three-dimensional characteristics only in the topper area, and is thus not as aesthetically pleasing as a container having three-dimensional detail over the entire body of the container. The main portion of the bottle is simply cylindrical, with a two-dimensional label or picture showing the lower body of the figure or character attached to the outer surface of the container. Further, this container does not allow for the replacement of the bottle. Once the product is completely used, the container either has to be disposed of, and a new container purchased, or a refill of the product has to be purchased and then placed into the container, such as by pouring, etc.
Another container, known in the prior art and somewhat similar in design to the above-described container, is again generally cylindrical in configuration and comprises a peripheral side wall and a bottom. The neck portion of this container is elongated, and a closure such as a standard pump dispenser or spray fitting is attached to the neck portion, generally with the use of threads, to seal the contents of the container. The sidewall of the container is formed from a flexible material, and is provided with a two-dimensional label as decoration.
A decorative topper is fitted over the pump or spray dispensing closure and then moved firmly into place about the elongated neck portion. The topper is held in place by means of cooperating sealing beads on the outer surface of the elongated neck portion and inner surface of the topper. The topper is provided with an opening or aperture in both its top and its bottom, to allow for the slidable placement of the topper over the dispensing closure and onto the neck portion. Thus, unlike the previously mentioned container, this container does not provide for dispensing of the product through the topper itself--rather, the dispensing portion, i.e., the closure, extends through the opening in the top of the topper. However, this container still suffers from the same shortcomings, namely, any three-dimensional detail is limited to the topper provided on the upper portion of the container, and the container is therefore not as aesthetically pleasing. Also, the container is not replaceable, requiring the purchase of an entire new container or a refill. Refilling tends to be a cumbersome procedure, requiring the disassembly of the existing container, followed by pouring the refill product into the container, and then reassembly of the container. Often times the topper is fixably secured to the bottle, such that it is virtually impossible to remove the topper for refilling without damaging or destroying the container.
Another container known in the prior art is similar in design to the first-mentioned prior art container, in that in consists of a flexible container having a push-pull type closure and a decorative three-dimensional topper affixed to the closure, through which the contents of the container are dispensed. However, the lower portion of the container, rather than being simply cylindrical, is instead molded to provide minimal three-dimensional characteristics, e.g., the outer shape of a cartoon character or the like. A printed label or the like portraying the appearance of the cartoon character is then placed over the shaped bottle to provide the decoration. This container is therefore somewhat more aesthetically pleasing than a cylindrical bottle having only a three-dimensional topper thereon. Nevertheless, this container still does not provide a replaceable-type bottle, and possesses very limited three-dimensional characteristics.
Other containers known in the prior art consist of bottles which are formed from rigid thermoplastic polyvinylchloride (PVC), and are blow molded to have the three-dimensional shape of the body portion of, e.g., a cartoon character or the like. These containers generally terminate in a neck portion, which is provided with threads and sealed with a threaded cap. Rigid PVC is used so that the three-dimensional body portion of the bottle can be painted for decoration. Upon painting, the solvent in the paint may attack the PVC. Therefore, the walls of the rigid PVC container must be relatively thick, to enable the container to maintain its structural integrity and adequately contain the product. Typically a three-dimensional topper resembling the head portion of the character, similar to the toppers previously discussed and formed from a flexible PVC material, is friction-fitted over the threaded cap which seals the bottle.
Although designs such as these provide containers for liquid products which resemble three-dimensional character shapes, these containers do not physically separate the character shape from the product, i.e., the inner surface of the container generally matches the shape of the outer, three-dimensional surface. Because of this lack of separation, the character shape has to be constructed from a material which does not chemically interact with the product being contained. This restriction tends to prevent the use of soft, flexible materials for the character shape. Flexible materials used to manufacture product containers typically contain plasticizers, which may react with the product in the container and lead to deleterious effects. Since rigid materials are used to construct the container, the character shapes possess relatively crude three-dimensional characteristics. Further, the container, being rigid, cannot be squeezed to cause dispensing of the product. Therefore, only a traditional threaded cap, or a pump or spray-type device, can be used as the closure. Dispensing closures such as flip top or disk top closures, cannot be used since the rigid container cannot be squeezed to dispense its contents therefrom. Additionally, these containers are not replaceable--refilling is necessary once the product supply is exhausted.
The body or lower portion of these containers is produced by extrusion blow molding, using split molds. This process, while allowing for minimal three-dimensional detail, cannot provide the negative drafts necessary to produce undercuts on the finished product. Undercuts is a term known by those skilled in the art to describe the shapes and surfaces of a product having a true three-dimensional look, e.g., objects such as a ball or the like, being held by the figure or character depicted, can be made to appear more nearly spherical, rather than merely hemispherical. The decorative toppers, by comparison, are produced by rotationally molding a plasticized PVC resin. This process does allow for the negative drafts which produce undercuts, and hence, superior three-dimensional detail. The topper, unlike the lower portion of the container, can be made from a flexible material and rotationally molded because the topper does not contain, or come into contact with, the product being stored, and therefore does not pose a risk of chemical interaction with or adulteration of the product.
Yet another container known in the prior art consists of a replaceable, thin walled, inner bottle enclosed within a two-piece outer housing having a three-dimensional, decorative character shape. The inner bottle is blow molded, and is shaped to conform to the three-dimensional shape of the outer housing. The outer housing is a shaped, injection molded, rigid plastic shell, which consists of two cooperating shell halves. The inner bottle is placed within the two rigid shell halves, which snap-fit together to hold the inner bottle in place. The inner bottle has a neck which is open on the top and extends up though the assembled outer housing. A rigid plastic head piece is fitted onto the outer housing over the neck of the inner bottle, and has an opening therein for the insertion of a straw to drink the contents of the inner bottle.
Although this container allows for the replacement of the inner bottle, it uses a rigid material for the character shape of the outer housing. Also, because rigid materials are used, the three-dimensional detail is relatively rudimentary. Nor can the product be dispensed by squeezing the two-piece, rigid outer housing--it must be poured out of or otherwise removed from the inner bottle. Further, because the inner bottle has the same three-dimensional shape as the outer housing, the inner bottle and outer housing must be used in conjunction exclusively with each other--the inner bottle cannot be used with a differently shaped outer housing, and vice versa.
A need therefore exists for a packaging system which includes a replaceable inner container and a flexible, resilient outer container, the flexible, resilient outer container being decorative and having a three-dimensional shape or form resembling the shape of an animal, a cartoon character, a youngster's toy or the like, and being squeezable to allow for use of a dispensing-type closure on the inner container.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a packaging system for a liquid or powder product which has an external three-dimensional shape, such as a cartoon character or the like, to provide superior aesthetic appeal.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a packaging system having an outer shell which is constructed from a soft, flexible material, the outer shell being configured in a three-dimensional character shape.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a packaging system having an inner container which contains the product, the inner container providing a means of separating the product from the soft, flexible material of the outer shell.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a packaging system which has an outer shell capable of use with a variety of inner-container shapes and sizes, and an inner container which is easily replaced once the liquid or powder product contained therein is consumed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a packaging system having a soft outer shell surrounding an inner container, the outer shell being flexible and resilient to allow for squeezing to cause dispensing of the product when a dispensing-type closure is used.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more fully apparent from the description and claims which follow or may be learned by the practice of the invention.